From My Window
The sunlight is so yellow that even if I couldn’t see the leaves, I would still know that it was late November. It’s in between warm, autumnal days, crisp with burning leaves and wet, gray days that pass for winter in Kentucky. Out my patio window, the birds are no longer leery of my neighbor’s cats sleeping by my feeders. Winter is coming and food is at a premium. Yet out my front window, I’m the only one who appears to stop this week for Thanksgiving. Stop before rushing into the Christmas season. Stop and leave the pumpkins on the front steps. Stop and wait.
There’s the rub of course: wait. We come into the world howling with impatience for food, for warmth, for love. And truth be told, we don’t get all that much better about waiting. We just keep quiet longer. Scriptures use the word ‘wait’ all the time: Noah and his family waited for the waters to recede. The Israelites waited in Egypt and then they got to wait in the wilderness. The Jews waited for a savior. Elizabeth waited for John, Mary waited for Jesus. Joseph waited in Egypt to keep his family safe. Jesus waited 30 years to begin his public ministry. The world waited three days while He lay in a tomb. We wait for the return of Jesus Christ in glory.
What are you waiting for? Better times? A thinner waist? A contented family? A world at peace? A church on fire for Jesus? Intimacy with God? Scripture tells us that it is good to wait on the Lord. Scripture promises that those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. Each year, the church celebrates Advent, which means ‘waiting’ to remind us that we don’t get to run ahead to the manger and have a party while waiting for the baby to show up. No. We live each day one at a time, waiting for God to move in God’s own season.
This Advent, wait intentionally for Christmas. Wait in prayer…use that devotional you got the 1st Sunday in Advent. Wait in gratitude….talk to your kids about where you all saw God each day. Wait in service…help some one else’s day be a glimpse of God’s goodness through you. Wait on the Lord. Christmas is coming.
Pastor Susan